Individual-Level Determinants of the Public Acceptance of Policy Measures to Improve Urban Air Quality: The Case of the Barcelona Low Emission Zone

Abstract

A variety of policy instruments that impose restrictions on traffic are being put in place across European cities to improve urban air quality. These measures include various schemes such as congestion charges, low emission zones (LEZs) and other traffic calming measures. In this paper, we are interested in the public acceptance of LEZs. Recent studies show high levels of public support for LEZs across Europe. However, specific research on public attitudes towards LEZs is limited. We conducted a self-administered survey (online) among residents in Barcelona, Spain. Based on a previous analytical model, bivariate and path analysis modelling was used to examine the association between key independent variables and acceptance. The results showed that most surveyed residents had a positive attitude towards implementing the LEZ, perceiving this policy instrument as a fair and effective measure to reduce air pollution. Perceived process legitimacy, perceived global impacts and affect had a significant direct effect on acceptance. Prior attitudes and personal orientations and, to a lesser extent, personal characteristics, were indirectly associated with levels of acceptance.

Public Acceptability of Low Emission Zones: The Case of “Madrid Central”

“…Overall, the acceptability of "Madrid Central" is fairly positive among Madrid's citizens, given their high environmental awareness (77.1% of the sample). Those results are aligned with the obtained by Oltra et al (2021) [38] in the context of Barcelona, where people with high environmental awareness showed higher acceptance level of car restriction policies. The strong relationship between political ideology and acceptability is reasonable, as the implementation of "Madrid Central" has been at the hotspot of the political debate in the region during 2018, generating confrontation among political parties.…”

An unexpected polarization: Individual-level factors behind the public acceptance of the superblocks of Barcelona

“…First, the specific beliefs that individuals hold regarding the policy (policy-specific beliefs such as perceived effectiveness, personal and societal perceived impacts or perceived fairness), the implementation of the policy and the actors implementing the policy (perceived process legitimacy and institutional trust). Second, factors such as familiarity with the intervention, perception of the problem that the intervention is aimed at reducing, the emotions associated to the intervention, prior orientations and attitudes, political identity and ideology, personal characteristics and media framing interact also to determine acceptance (Oltra et al, 2021). As concluded by Ejelöv and Nilsson (2020) in a recent review and research agenda, "the reviewed studies indicate that demographic factors generally have small effects on acceptability, that ideology seems to be a consistent predictor among personal factors, and that policy specific beliefs may be effective in explaining acceptability but that the relative importance of the specific beliefs may vary between policy contexts".…”

Impacto en la aceptabilidad y reparto modal de las medidas para mejorar la calidad del aire en Madrid Central

“…En general, la aceptabilidad de Madrid Central es bastante positiva entre los madrileños, dada su alta conciencia medioambiental (77,1% de la muestra). Estos resultados están en consonancia con los obtenidos por Oltra et al (2021) en el contexto de Barcelona, donde las personas con una alta conciencia medioambiental mostraron un mayor nivel de aceptación de las políticas de restricción del uso del coche. La fuerte relación entre ideología política y aceptabilidad es razonable, ya que la implementación de Madrid Central ha estado en el punto caliente del debate político en la región durante 2018, generando confrontación entre los partidos políticos.…”